"Scholars continually rediscover competent American artists who enjoyed successful careers at the turn of the century, but whose legacy has been lost over time. One of these, William Merritt Post, was a tonalist landscape painter often associated with the Barbizon school and the early New England Impressionists.

Born on December 11, 1856 in Brooklyn, Post was the son of a commodities merchant. His parents separated after sixteen years of marriage and four children, suggesting a troubled home life. Post's attraction to nature began in the fall of 1879, when an excursion from Brooklyn to a marshy region made Post think, "If I were an artist, this region would be one of the first places I would strike o...